Nurse practitioners and physicians' assistants may also authorize medical cannabis
OLYMPIA, WASH. MARCH 11, 2009 — A bill to expand Washington State's medical marijuana law cleared the state legislature today, and is headed to the governor's desk. SB 5798 allows naturopathic doctors, nurse practitioners, and advanced physicians' assistants to recommend the medical use of cannabis to their patients.
The new law will increase patient access to health care professionals willing to authorize medical cannabis. Because of the conflict between state and federal pot laws, many doctors fear retribution from the federal government and are reluctant to sign medical cannabis paperwork. To comply with the law, many qualifying patients are forced to travel to the city and pay $200 to see a doctor willing to sign an authorization form.
Also included in the bill is a provision that requires medical cannabis authorizations written after June to be printed on "tamper-resistant" paper that will also be required for all prescription forms in the state.
SB 5798 was supported by the Cannabis Defense Coalition, a Seattle-based activist group that tracks medical cannabis prosecutions in the state. The group hired veteran lobbyist Lonnie Johns-Brown to move the bill forward this session. "Cannabis is an effective, safe and natural medicine," said group spokesman Ben Livingston. "Patients with symptoms relieved by medical cannabis deserve the protection of our law, whether they see a regular doctor or a naturopathic physician. This bill will help increase safe access to this therapeutic, plant-based medicine."
Tamper-resistant paper amendment.
Amendment Effect: Provides that an authorization of marijuana use must be written on temper resistant paper approved by the board of pharmacy, for authorizations written on or after the effective date of this act.
The Cannabis Defense Coalition supports concurrence with these amendments. We have some concerns which we think can be addressed through the Board of Pharmacy and authorized private-sector printers. Tamper-resistant medical marijuana authorization paper must:
- not use the word "prescription" anywhere;
- not include space for a DEA license number; and
- be large enough to include the court-mandated verbage that is on the medical marijuana authorization form provided by the Washington State Medical Association.
Additionally, we are concerned about removing the right to rely on medical records to support the medical marijuana affirmative defense. This affects a large number of veterans at VA hospitals, whose doctors won't sign. This bill denies those veterans access to the defense unless they pay out of pocket to see a health care professional who will authorize their medical use of marijuana. We see no way to mitigate this, and recognize that in supporting this bill, we have made a trade that we must acknowledge and accept.
SB 5798 talking points.
Bipartisan support. SB 5798 passed the Senate with the support of 9 of 16 republican senators and almost all democratic senators.
Prescriptive authority. Naturopathic doctors, physicians' assistants, and nurse practitioners can write prescriptions under federal law and should have the authority to authorize the medical use of marijuana.
Access to medical marijuana. In less populous areas of Washington State, doctors are few and far between, and finding a doctor with the courage to recommend medical marijuana is difficult. Many, perhaps most, qualifying medical marijuana patients must travel to urban centers and pay $200 to see a doctor willing to authorize their medical use of marijuana. This bill would provide patients with terminal or debilitating medical conditions greater access to the protections afforded them by I-692.
CDC hires lobbyist.
In January, the Cannabis Defense Coalition hired veteran lobbyist Lonnie Johns-Brown to work on SB 5798. Lonnie has been lobbying in Olympia since 1985 and specializes in representing social service, health care and human rights issues. One can read an in-depth 2004 Seattle P-I article about her here.
SB 5798 would expand our state's medical marijuana law to allow nurse practitioners, physicians assistants and naturopathic doctors to authorize the use of medical marijuana. The bill is universally supported by the medical marijuana community -- a rarity these days -- yet nobody seemed to be talking about or working in support of the bill. We seek to change that.
We don't expect much in this legislative session, but we do want to get our feet wet, and lead by example by proactively supporting 5798. Our bill has three weeks to clear the Senate, and if it does that, another three weeks to clear the House.
We contracted for an initial 3 weeks of lobbying at $250/week, and continued our contract after the bill cleared the Senate. Our total project cost is $1,500. We have collected $1000 in contributions, leaving a $500 gap in funding. Please support such proactive efforts by sending a contribution to CDC, PO Box 45622, Seattle, WA 98145, dropping money by the Cannabis Resource Center, or donating online.
